Messi: Neymar joining Real Madrid would be a terrible blow for Barca

Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi has said that PSG forward and former Barca teammate Neymar joining Real Madrid would be a bad blow for his club.

In this day and age, there are only a handful of players who can make a difference the way that Neymar can and ofcourse Lionel Messi knows what it would mean to Real Madrid if they were able to acquire the services of the Brazilian. It would also mean that Barca will lose someone to Real Madrid, someone who knows how the Catalan side ticks.

"It would be terrible [if Neymar moved to Madrid] because of everything he means to Barcelona," Messi said in an interview with Argentina's TyC Sports.

Messi said that he talks to Neymar about what he feels about him moving to Real Madrid. The Argentine knows that if a player like Neymar settles in Madrid, they would have a player who they can build around.

"Ney won important trophies here. He won the Champions League [and] La Liga [titles]. It would be a huge blow for everyone. It would make Madrid even stronger from a football point of view. I speak with him, so he already knows what I think."

Messi also gave his views on Brazil’s World Cup chances and felt that Argentina’s South American counterparts have the ability to win the coveted tournament which starts in June.

"Brazil are going into the finals in good form, despite the bad luck they had with Ney's injury," the Argentinian said.

"But he will be back flying quickly with his fitness levels.

"As a group, they work well, and they have great individuals. They can kill you on the counterattack with players like Ney, [Philippe] Coutinho, Gabriel Jesus and Paulinho.

"They know what they're doing. They're a well-tuned unit. They're one of the teams that could win the World Cup,” Messi concluded.